Rotary’s goal to eradicate polio is making progress in Afghanistan after polio vaccinations were succesfully carried out in areas controlled by the Taliban recently.
Stamping out polio has been Rotary’s number one goal since 1985 and the organisation is the key private sector partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), working alongside the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health workers recently vaccinated 1.8 million children in the polio-affected provinces of Afghanistan (Nangarhar, Kunar, Lagman,Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand and Farah).
In Afghanistan, Rotarians and WHO representatives have worked with religious leaders to gain access to areas previously restricted by conflict and political strife. The leaders recognise the importance of the polio eradication initiative and link immunization against the disease to the duties of parents to protect their children, as explained in the Quran.
Ian Thomson, president of the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, said: "Our members are hugely committed to the polio eradication initiative and we’re delighted with the news that our efforts, and those of Rotary as a whole, are having an effect in the remaining polio-endemic countries.
"It is heartwarming to know that when the welfare of children is at stake we can work peaceably with other countries without politics and religion getting in the way."
National immunisation drives in Afghanistan aim to reach 7.5million children under age five. Approximately 50,000 public health staff and volunteers, including Rotarians, are currently involved in the undertaking.
Dr. Tahir Mir, a WHO medical officer for the polio eradication initiative, said: "There is no evidence of poliovirus transmission in all areas in Afghanistan that have been safely accessed by polio vaccinators. Only areas that are inaccessible to our teams have reported polio cases."
Since Rotary helped launch the polio eradication initiative: :polio cases have fallen from 350,000 a year to 1,315 in 2007; 125 endemic countries has been reduced to just four (Afghanistan,India, Nigeria and Pakistan); and two billion children have been protected from the disease.
Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland have donated £10.5 million (US$20 million) to polio immunization initiatives to date, and many members have actually taken part inimmunisation days abroad. Rotary worldwide has contributed £376 million ($700 million) in total to fund polio immunization activities.
To find out more about Rotary’s involvement in Polio Eradication, visit www.rotary.org/endpolio
20/11/08
